Narrative
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Corrupted
By: April Withee
My name is Halo, and I live in Staropolis- a city that experiences a total solar eclipse every single day. Unfortunately for me, I have this illness called “corruption” that kicks in everyday because of the eclipse. My parents were told that I had corruption, but didn’t believe the doctor. Truth is, I DO have corruption, and nobody knows about it except for the doctors.
Corruption is a complicated disease. Nobody knows how to cure it, nobody thinks I have it, and worst of all, our city is the only communist one in the entire COUNTRY. Our three evil dictators are completely against corruption, so they just catch whoever has corruption and kill them, with no mercy or time for them to get back to their normal self, which is guaranteed to happen after an episode of the disease.
The three dictators of Staropolis became what they are now because they are filthy rich, so they bought every building in our town, so they control the land. And us. We didn’t sell the buildings to them, they just threatened to arrest us and execute us in the worst way possible- which I’m not even going to explain because they are just downright cruel and evil. Instead of caring about the people like they should, they just care about themselves. They treat us like slaves and make us follow their every command, having the power of a thousand nuclear weapons at their fingertips.
Ugh. School. Have I mentioned that? I don’t have any friends, so I just hang out with my two brothers who also don’t know I’m corrupted.
All anybody can talk about at our school is this stupid eclipse. But it’s not just any solar eclipse, it’s the New Year’s Eclipse, which apparently is going to be accompanied by a meteor shower. They also say that it’s supposed to have all sorts of colored sun rays coming out from behind the moon. To be honest, I don’t think it will look that cool, but everybody just keeps gushing about it. It’s exactly like the eclipse of August 21, 2015. That time, we didn't see Bailey's beads or the diamond ring effect, both phases of an eclipse. Everybody just kept talking about that, and I watched it from inside in a locked room, and we could barely see it. It barely looked like night, and like usual, my corruption kicked in. My doctors told me to try to not let any light hit me, but when I tried that, it didn’t work, and I went crazy like all corruptos do.
“Alright, class. You all know that the New Year’s Eclipse is coming. Are you excited? If you are, LET ME HEAR YOU!” my teacher yelled.
The class screamed in excitement.
“Today, you will be writing an eclipse themed card to our three wonderful dictators to show how happy and thankful you are to be getting an invite to the middle of town to see this wonderful event.”
Like I said. Our dictators aren’t any good for us or our city. I think everybody in my class got some of that poisonous gas that our dictators just happen to have hidden in the secret compartment in their castle. Don’t ask me how I even know that. Mr. Galaxy talks about it all the time to his rich friends. Mr. Galaxy is one of Terra Hellers’ assistants, who are treated like they are diamond encrusted shoes made out of tiger skin or something. For all I know, Terra might have a pair of shoes like that.
For the rest of the day, we just did other solar eclipse related activities, and when we had to draw things, I just drew the same thing over and over again: the diamond ring effect, a phase of the eclipse right before the total eclipse when there’s this huge section of light that makes the sun and moon look like a giant diamond ring, which is where it probably got its name from. And speaking of the diamond ring effect, I didn’t do my letter. To be honest, I don’t care if I get an F on it. That’s just how much I hate our rulers.
When I got home, I forgot all about the letter that was sent to the whole town! I couldn’t believe that I forgot to take it and shred it before my parents got to it. I knew I should’ve tried to crash the mail truck…
“Oh, look! The New Year’s Eclipse is tomorrow! I’m just so glad that Mr. and Mrs. Hellers took time to send this lovely letter to the whole town. And thank goodness that we don’t have any corrupted kids,” said my mom.
I started to get nervous. I went up to my room and started to think about what would happen if my parents forced me to go see the eclipse (which they always do) and then my corruption kicked in. Would they be mad, sad, disappointed, or little bit of everything? I know that Terra intentionally put “bring your corrupted kids with you” into that invite just so she could smile at the thought of killing us off, one by one. I don’t even know what to say, so I just passed out.
When I woke up, I realized that I was in our car and that we were going to see the eclipse, and I couldn’t escape. When we got there, my parents started talking to all of their friends. While they were doing that, I ran off and started to meltdown like the one time the nuclear power plant had a nuclear meltdown. Unfortunately for me, my nosy brother Skyler followed me and just stared at me like I was stupid or something. Thing about Skyler is that he doesn’t talk much unless he’s had a lot of sugar.
The eclipse was about to start. Suddenly, I felt my hands shaking, and when I looked at them, they had glowing green computer chip designs on them, which is the first step of corruption. Luckily, I brought a pair of gloves with me, but when I took them out of my pocket, I only had one, and the other one was probably with Jay because he likes to steal my stuff and mess around with it. He probably filled my glove with water to use as a makeshift water balloon. I really needed that glove right now, but since I didn’t have it, I just put my other hand in my pocket. I hoped nobody would see it. I was wrong.
“Mommy! What’s wrong with that boy’s arm?” a little girl yelled out.
Next step of corruption: those green marks travel up your arms really fast. And I just now noticed that Jay cut off the arm of my jacket to use as another makeshift water balloon. At this time, I really wish water balloons didn’t exist.
Everybody stared at me, and Jay laughed until he saw me. Tears were running down my face, which was also covered with green computer chip designs by now. Suddenly, I stopped crying and became angry. So angry that I felt like attacking somebody, especially Jay. And in an instant, I became fully corrupted, acting like a wild animal, since I couldn’t control myself. I can’t remember what happened next, but I think I attacked Jay along with a few others, and the only thing I can remember is getting a poisonous dart in my back and passing out.
“Well, well, well. Who do we have here? Poor, helpless Halo. Stuck in here and now hated by all the citizens of Staropolis. I feel so bad for you. Because you’re never going to see the world or say goodbye to it either,” said Terra, whose icy blue eyes burned me.
After Terra talked to me, her guards picked up my cage and threw it into a dark room, where I just sat there, hopeless. I should’ve run away from Staropolis and returned the next day or something to hide my corruption. But of course, I made the wrong decision and got captured and now I have to be executed for some stupid reason. If there's one critical thing I learned my condition, it's that it can NEVER spread. It only happens to you if you’re born with it, or you have a computer chip inside of your body somewhere, and it got damaged in a severe injury.
I'm not sure what time of day it was, but a few hours after I got thrown into the cage, somebody came into the room, and I screamed. When I saw who it was, I was relieved. Relieved, but mad. It was Jay and Skyler, who had laughed at me before, and now apparently came here to "rescue" me.
"WhAt do YOu want? You lAUGhed at mE and nOw you wAnT to reSCue me afTEr yOU fiGure OuT I'm WoRthleSs," I said. Note: another thing you contract when you become corrupted is a glitching voice, which happens because the computer chip inside of you starts to control your voice.
"We're here to save you, and I'm sorry I took your glove. I'm sorry I took the arm of your jacket. I'm sorry I embarrassed you, and I'm really sorry I laughed at you. I promise I won't do any of that stuff ever again. At least to you. I'll find somebody else to do it to after we get out of here," said Jay.
"Too bad you won't be able to do that stuff to anybody else anyways. Because you aren't going to get out of here," said Mr. Hellers. "MR. GALAXY! WE NEED YOU RIGHT NOW, AND IT'S FOR A VERY IMPORTANT REASON!"
"Yes, sir, do you need more cages for corruptos, more nuclear weapons, or a cup of coffee?" asked Mr. Galaxy.
"Actually, I need two more cages for these idiots. And a cup of coffee would be nice too. SO GET TO IT!" yelled Mr. Hellers.
After Mr. Galaxy got more cages (and a cup of coffee for his MASTER), Mr. Hellers left, leaving us with the strongest guy around.
But one thing that made all three of us shocked: Mr. Galaxy didn't put us in the cages. He just started talking to us.
" Why aren't you putting us in the cages? Aren't you loyal to the Hellers?" Skyler asked.
" I am. I just can't make myself do it. I was in a cage too, once. Thing is, I'm not from this planet. People just call me Mr. Galaxy because they're scared of me, and they'll do anything so I don't beat them up. That was in grade school, though. When the Hellers found out that I had no parents, they took advantage of me and asked if I wanted to live with them. I said yes instantly, but that was my biggest mistake ever. All they really wanted me for was for heavy workloads so they didn't have to do it. You see, I came from a city on a completely different planet that went into a nuclear winter, so my parents had to move to a different planet. The only problem with that was the escape pods could only hold two people, so I had to share a pod with my best friend, who doesn't even go to this school. Sadly, my parents didn't make it to this planet, so I had to live with my best friend, who got adopted and then moved. Then I was on my own. And that's when the Hellers asked me to live with them," said Mr. Galaxy.
"If you hate working here that much, then why don't you just leave?" asked Skyler, who tapped Jay so he would pay attention.
"There's one problem. The Hellers are huge haters of corruption. So if I leave, then they'll think I'm corrupted and then they'll kill me with poisonous gas from the secret compartment of this building."
"You always talk about this secret compartment. What's exactly in it?"
"I've been there only once. There are a few weapons and a lot of cash. That's all I remember. They told me to tell everybody else who asked about it to tell them it was weapons and only that so they would be intimidated and even more scared of Terra and her family than they are already."
"I have an idea! Let's get out of here, grab some cash for you, and find a good family that will accept you, Mr. Galaxy. Then without their most loyal slave, the Hellers will have to do everything by themselves, and all of us citizens can finally break free from the Hellers' grip," said Jay.
"Alright! Just one more thing I have to tell you. My real name is Saturn, so just call me that. Now let's get out of this prison!" yelled Saturn.
Saturn led us to the secret compartment of the castle, where we took all the cash we could carry and an electricity jammer (to knock out all the cameras and wipe their memory clean) and got out of there. Getting out of there was pretty easy, except for when one of the entrance guards asked us what we were doing.
"Where are you going, Mr. Galaxy?" asked the guard.
"I'm not going anywhere of importance, just need to get some more cages," replied Saturn.
"What do you mean, more cages? There are many more in the ba-… hey! Where do you think you're going, Mr. Galaxy? You aren't supposed to leave!"
We just kept walking past the guards.
"YOU CAN'T JUST LEAVE LIKE THAT! WE HAVE TO SERVE THE THREE DICTATORS OF THIS LAND! MR. GALAXY! GET BACK HERE!" screamed the guard.
We just kept walking, and eventually the guard set an alarm off. We started to run, and luckily, we hid behind a building and stopped to catch our breath. Unfortunately, the side we did hide on had a huge group of people in front of it, and two of those people were my mom and my dad. People probably weren't too happy to see me, especially the ones who had bandages all over their bodies (they were probably the people I attacked).
"It's the corrupted! GET HIM!" screamed one person.
"WAIT! Don't attack Halo! It's not his fault he's corrupted, the Hellers embedded a computer chip inside of him, and it has just become damaged, so he's a little different. Just because he's a little different doesn't mean you have to kill him, does it? To the people that Halo attacked, it was nothing personal, it’s just when you become corrupted, you can't control your body. It's all the Hellers’ fault that he's corrupted. And that weapon compartment of their castle, it's only a few weapons and the rest of it is your cash! So how about we stick up for each other and give them nightmares like they did to us? Stealing our cash and hurting us both physically and mentally! Unlike this eclipse, they can't cover up their dirty work anymore. SO LET'S GET THEM!" Yelled Saturn.
We marched right up to the Hellers' castle and pinned the guards to the wall. Then, we split up, and half of us went to the secret compartment, and the other half of us went into the throne room to capture the Hellers.
"Mr. Galaxy! I thought you were supposed to be doing my laundry! And doing the dishes! And doing my math homework!" cried Terra.
"I’m not your slave. From now on, you'll be doing the dishes, laundry, and your own homework. I'm not scared if you're threatening to kill me.
I know that you don't have any fast-working weapons. Just the poisonous gas you were planning to release into the city after everybody went to bed tonight," said Saturn. "Oh, and one more thing. My name is Saturn."
"Don't say that there's only weapons in the secret compartment, because there's the citizen's cash back there, too," said Terra.
"If you're not stupid, then why did you just give away the contents of that compartment that's no longer a secret?"
"What? Whatever. I'm going back there now. And one more thing- we aren't friends anymore."
"To be honest, a person like you doesn't have friends. I wasn't your friend to begin with, and all those girls who are your “so-called friends” are just as brainless as you are."
When Terra went to the so called “secret compartment”, she looked in there with horror in her evil blue eyes as people took as much many weapons and cash as their arms could carry. All of a sudden, the citizens pinned Terra to the wall as Saturn pulled out a small mechanism kind of shaped like a gun. Then he pulled the trigger four times. All I can say is that four giant boomerang-shaped projectiles came flying out of the barrel of the mechanism and pinned her arms and legs to the wall so the citizens didn't have to hold her anymore.
"So you like people doing everything for you huh? Well, from now on, three people will be coming in everyday three times a day to feed you and your parents like children. And if you don't like what we're serving, then your luck just ran out. And your entertainment for the day will be about the alphabet," said Saturn.
After we left the castle, I still had one question for Saturn.
"WhAt AbouT mY CoRRupTiOn, SaTURn? Is THeRe any WaY I cAN FiX it?" I asked.
"There is definitely a way, and I can fix you myself! The computer chip is buried right underneath the first layer of your skin in your upper right arm. Best of all, you don't even need to be put to sleep, and the removal only pinches a little bit," said Saturn.
After he explained that to me, he removed the computer chip, and I went back to normal. As for the Hellers, well, they got what they wanted, somebody to do everything for them. Saturn got a permanent family and was appreciated at school for releasing everybody from the Hellers' grip.
And one more thing: I made a new friend. His name is Saturn Galaxy.
Trapped In Totality
By: Aryana Anderson
I woke up in a place chained to a chair. The room is just a 4-wall cement room with a metal door and T.V right in front of me. On the T.V it’s showing the eclipse that’s supposed to be going on right now. I’m supposed to be with my family watching the eclipse outside our house in our backyard right now. It’s very important to us because the last solar eclipse in the U.S was 38 years ago and that’s when my parents met. So today was supposed to be a special day for all of us. I don’t even know how I got here, I’m so confused. On my lap there’s a bag of keys, but before I could even open the bag to get out of here the T.V screen all of the sudden goes black and an anonymous voice starts talking to me.
“Don’t be scared, Aaron.” Then he starts laughing like a crazy person. I think to myself, “How does he even know my name?”
“There’s 5 traps in this building. You have to get out of each trap before a certain phase of the eclipse, the amount of time you have to get out of each trap will be displayed on the T.V in each room. If you fail to get out of a trap before the required time, one member of your family will be taken away to an unknown place forever.’’
I think to myself “They have the wrong person. What if I never get to see some of my family again? What if I never even get out of here?”
The anonymous voice continues talking saying “In the bag on your lap there’s 20 keys. Only one unlocks the lock to your chains. You have until ¼ of totality to get out of those chains. If you fail to do so in time, you will never see your little sister Sarah again.”
The T.V then turns back to the eclipse and now there’s a timer under it counting down how much time I have to get out of here. I start crying because I realized that this is real and I just might lose my sister forever. Even though I’m bawling my eyes out right now I start to restlessly search through the keys to find the one that might get me out of here. It took me 12 tries but I finally got out with only minutes to spare. I’m glad I saved my sister, but yet terrified to realize that this isn’t over yet.
The next room I walk in is just like the last room except this time the door now has a lock on it and in the middle of the room there’s a little table with 2 cardboard boxes on it. The T.V in the room goes black again and the voice starts talking to me.
“I’m glad you made it out the last trap.” Then he starts laughing.
“Inside the 2 boxes on the table there’s 10 tarantulas in each box.” I think to myself “Ugh. Why did it have to be spiders? They’re my
worst fear.”
“Both boxes have a key in it but only one unlocks the door. You have until ½ of totality to find the key and get out of this room. If you fail to do so in time, you will never see your little brother Aiden again.” The T.V then goes back to the eclipse and the timer. I hesitate to start going into the box and find the key because just the thought of me touching spiders disgusts me, but I have to save Aiden. I start going through the box and after a couple of second I find the key. Just as I started to unlock the door and the door didn’t unlock I realized I got the wrong key. As I went through the other box to get the other key there was no other thought going through my mind but the fact that I just desperately want to get out of here. It’s a good thing I made it out of this trap in time though, I guess.
The next room is probably the worst trap yet. I got in and all I saw was a long narrow hallway. On my right there’s another stupid T.V and I start hearing his stupid voice again.
“The rules are quite simple for this round. You are in a human maze. You have until the sun reaches full totality to get out of here. If you fail to get out of here, you will be taken away to an unknown place and will never see your family again.”
My heart dropped. He started talking again but I couldn’t even hear what he said because after he said I could possibly be taken away forever I immediately started running down the halls. I kept on running into dead ends. Every time I ran into a different hallway the voice would taunt me, laugh at me, tell me that I have no chance. Too much was going on and I just couldn’t take it anymore. I broke down and started crying. I just wanted to get out of here. I then realized though that crying won’t do any good. I got up, wiped my tears, and started walking through the maze until I finally found a door. I almost didn’t make it though. On the clock there was only 10 seconds left. In the next room there’s a table with some books on it and this time the door has a keypad by it.
“There’s 15 books on the table, but only one of them have a note with the code for the keypad to get out. You have until ½ pass totality to get out or else say goodbye to your dad!” the voice started laughing again after that. I guess you can say I got lucky on this round because I got the code after only going through the second book.
The last trap is the worst/hardest round yet. In this room there’s just one big pool and on the surface by the pool there’s a little pole.
“The pool is 20ft. At the bottom there’s 20 rings. You have to fish out all 20 rings before the eclipse is over or say goodbye to mommy.” I love my mom way too much to jeopardize losing her. I quickly take off my shoes and dive in. I can barely see. The pool is so deep that I can only be down there for so long until I need to come back up for a breath of air. So far I only have 8 rings on the pole, but when I came up to catch my breath again on the T.V it said I only have a minute and a half left. I took a deep breath and went back down and got as much rings as I could. I came back up and now there’s 30 seconds on the clock. I only have 16 rings. I hurried and went back down and got the last 4 and got them on the pole with only 2 seconds to spare.
“Congratulations.” The voice says. “It’s too bad though, I was hoping I could keep you.”
The door then opens and my family came rushing out. We hugged each other so tight that none of us could even breathe. Just as I finally felt relieved and was ready to go home with my family the voice says,
“You want to play another game?”
“Goodbye Light”
By: Logan Lawson
8:30 A.M august 20th 2017
The morning was starting normally for Tom Smith. He had his usual off-the-bus greetings from his friends. As he went to his first hour class, he took for granted that he was the smartest kid in school and the football captain. He was only thinking about the historic eclipse happening the next day. Tom was really excited about the eclipse, and couldn't wait to see it. Thankfully, school would be cancelled tomorrow. The total solar eclipse tomorrow would not happen where Tom lived again for over 300 years. He hoped his solar eclipse glasses would arrive at his house in time.
12:57 A.M. August 21st 2017
When the UPS truck arrived, Tom signed for the box as fast as he could. As he ripped the box open, he noticed the packaging seal on the glasses was taped closed. That was odd, since the glasses were brand new. In A hurry to get his eclipse glasses on, Tom didn't notice that his glasses did not have the safety ISO code. His school teacher had warned him that this code should be there. He stared up at the sun in wonder and watched as the moon took a bite out of the sun.
1:03 P.M. August 21st 2017
Tom looks up again and sees nothing. He realizes that his glasses are so dark he cannot see the totality of the eclipse. So, he takes off his glasses, looks up, and sees the most beautiful light he has ever seen. In amazement, he stops and just stares. He knows he should put his glasses back on, but he can't bring himself to do it. Then as quickly as it began, the totality ends, and the sun's unfiltered rays flood Tom's retinas. He feels a painful tingly feeling in his eyes for a moment. But once he puts his glasses back on, his eyes start to feel better. Tom feels a dull ache in the back of his eyes, but he assumes it's no big deal. Suddenly it stops. He feels normal except a slight aching.
7:30 A.M. August 23rd 2017
Yesterday, Tom knew that his eyesight was getting worse, because he kept seeing swimming spots and flashes of light. But today, as soon as Tom opens his eyes, he realizes something is terribly wrong. He opens his eyes and sees nothing but blackness, punctuated by few bright swirling dots. He rolls out of bed, fumbles for his phone, and uses the voice dialer to call his older sister. "Susan, it's me. Something's happening to my eyes," says Tom, trying to sound braver than he felt. "Please come get me."
9:45 A.M. August 23rd 2017
“Tom Smith to Exam Room 3, Tom Smith to Exam Room 3,” calls the front desk. "Why do they always do that? Repeating the room number. I'm not deaf," Says Tom. Afraid, with tears in her eyes that Tom would never see, Susan guides him to Exam Room Three. The tests begin.
10:00 A.M. August 27th 2017
Dr. Hunkler is not sure how to say it, so he speaks directly and calmly to the young football star. “Well, Mr. Smith, we have checked everything and re-checked. It seems you are permanently blind. The condition is called solar retinopathy. It occurs when bright light from the sun floods the retina on the back of the eyeball. It seems that the combination of your counterfeit glasses, and the time you spent looking with your unprotected eyes have caused........." But Tom was no longer listening. He was only weeping, silently.
10:45 A.M. July 26th 2034
Although it had been more than ten years since his sight was stolen from him, Tom still dreamed in full color. In the middle of his dream of playing football for the Fighting Irish, Tom wakes up with a jolt. He realizes it's because something scratchy just ran over his uncovered feet. He sits up and continues crawling around cursing as he scrapes his knee on a chunk of concrete. A couple days ago, Tom was beaten and robbed of his shoes and his cane. Since then crawling, was easier than walking on broken glass or the discarded needles near his “home” under the overpass. Plus, it made it easier for him to feel where he was going. He knew he was close to the highway because he heard the semi-trucks, but he wasn’t quite there yet.
12:06 P.M. July 26th 2034
Tom hears the sounds of cars and trucks passing by closely, and his hands feel the hot sunbaked concrete. He finally stands up, glad to be off his hands and knees. The sounds of the interstate keep getting louder as Tom walks forward. Suddenly, Tom hears only a deep bellowing truck horn and eighteen screeching tires. At that same instant, Tom sees a final flash of light. The sun overhead stares down at Tom, unfazed, waiting patiently for the next eclipse.
Battle of Sol Obsuratus
By Maya Horn
In ancient times, there were two beings that ruled the earth-Luna, the elegant moon, and Sol, the mighty sun. Luna commanded over the palace of night, and Sol, the palace of day, where they ruled in harmony over the earth and its people. But that peace was not to last for long. For Luna saw how the people of earth worshiped and loved Sol and her palace of day, and she became extremely jealous.
“Why do the people love the day so much, but fear the night?” Luna bickered. “Am I not as elegant as Sol, if not much more? I should be praised just as much as her!” Luna’s jealousy became more twisted and rotten as time passed, until it completely corrupted her. She decided she had enough of sharing the reign of earth with Sol. So Luna came up with a mischievous plan to deceive Sol so she could have both kingdoms all to herself. While Sol was tending to her duties in her palace of day, Luna crept up to the edge of the night.
“Sol, Sol, may I pass into the castle of day, just this once?” she begged. Sol refused and kept tending to her duties, for she knew Luna couldn’t be trusted. Luna asked Sol once again, “It’s so lonely in my kingdom, for I have no one to talk to. May I visit you in your glorious palace of day?” But Sol refused yet another time. Luna was not to give up there, for her rotten jealousy and hate was festering as much as ever. She decided it was time to do something a little more drastic. “Sol, Sol please let me into your beauteous kingdom, for I have a gift for you!” Luna said, showing off her present. It was her necklace of stars, whose beauty always astounded the people of earth. Sol was entranced by the beautiful piece of jewelry.
“Alright Luna, you may come into my castle with your most generous gift. But you mustn’t interfere with any of my duties!” Sol said, allowing Luna into the day.
“But of course, my dear friend. Trust me, I would never cross you!” Luna gushed, hiding a sinister smile. Just as Sol was about to take her gift, Luna attacked her, pushing her away and taking over the palace. She shrouded Sol in darkness until you could only see her beauteous beads of sunlight, and even that was blocked out by Luna.
“Yes!” Luna cried. “Now I control the night and the day; the people will worship only me and my beauty!” The people on Earth began to worry.
“What have you done to Sol? Where is her light?” The people questioned, both angry and scared.
“We refuse to worship you and your cruel ways, Luna!” Luna became extremely outraged by this. While she was distracted by her rage and was about to punish the people of earth, Sol rose up from the darkness and pushed Luna out of the castle. Luna fell all the way back to the kingdom of night, and the people rejoiced to see Sol’s light once again. Luna may have failed to win over the day this time, but Sol knew this was not the last time she would try to trap Earth in darkness once again.
“No matter how many times you will try to take over my palace, it will not matter. For the light will always prevail!”
Luna Love
Tori Tran
Her heart beats for the star that shines the most. Our Sun.
Going by many names, our moon Luna has such an anxious soul living in her craters. She orbits her longest friend Earth, who she learned to call Terre. Orbiting the same star together has given Terre a chance to be with our Sun. She calls him by his first name of Solar. All three have been friends for years on end. They forget what life was like before each other. But as Luna continues to mature, so does her heart beating for Solar becomes stronger.
Luna knows not to like Solar. Luna knows Terre is with Solar. Luna can’t help but to be drawn to the brightest shining star. Years on end, months muddle, days grows longer as her heart grows bigger and bigger. Not only does the heart hold love, but it holds fear- fear of rejection and fear of humiliation. These feelings continue to grow and engulf her in anxiety and happiness. She can’t just help but to spill her feelings, and she confesses to the stars by telling them her worries and her stories. The Stars are captivated, listening intently and carefully. Taking in every detail, they can’t resist but to empathize with Luna.
The Stars tell the Clouds all the details. All feelings and emotions are felt though the conversation. Clouds, when sad, have an equivalent of a human’s version of crying, Clouds rain. Clouds are puffs of air who are too sympathetic and too caring. Hearing Luna’s struggles give both the stars and clouds a plan. To give Luna confidence. Confidence to speak and tell Solar her feelings. While devising the plan, Luna continues to orbit the sun with Terre, her heart continues to ache, and soon enough she can’t take it anymore. She’s going to tell the sun, now. Telling the stars and clouds and asking for reassurance. The stars are glowing in excitement, and the clouds grow bigger in happiness. Overjoyed, the plan goes into action. Around 1:00 p.m., the clouds will cover Terre, and the stars will watch.
Luna has never felt this feeling before, the feeling of anxiety and excitement mixed together. The feeling of fear and happiness holding hands, and all these emotions together mixed in a horrible concoction of anxiety. The clouds have blocked Terre, and the stars can feel Luna’s hesitation. Slowing getting close to solar, she steps back. She can’t do it, she’s too scared, overwhelmed, and frozen. The stars see this, they know the feeling of regret burning a hole in their hearts. They can’t let this happen to Luna. She’s too young to realize the truth of heartbreak. They push her towards Solar faster than the speed of light and stop abruptly. Seeing the beautiful site of Luna right in front of Solar was astounding. Seeing the moon in front of the sun was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
It was time. Everything was covered, and only the small ring of light around Luna can be seen. It was time for her to tell Solar everything that was being held in her heart. But the fear that was holding hands with her love was swallowing her. She thought this feeling never existed. The feeling of drowning with no water, the feeling of having a dry throat but a sweaty forehead, the feeling of crying and screaming, but nothing comes out. All these feeling mix and physically affect her, her breathing is faster and shorter and her shoulders are weighing her down. She feels as if her lungs are folding onto each other. She’s leaves just as fast as she came. Not telling Solar all the things in her heart. The stars fall, and the clouds turn grey. The tears in her eyes are filling and falling as the new stars. Maybe in the future they will become suns. The stars gather around and the clouds cry for Luna. Being surrounded by her friends, she is comforted.
Her heart falls to a normal size, and she is told wise words from an old star who has seen many moons, many galaxies away.
“Try again in 18 months.”
Stealing the Formula
Vinh Nguyen
“Alright people, tomorrow is the total eclipse. So, while everyone is outside staring at the sun, I say, we go steal the Coca-Cola secret formula, replicate the formula, add it to our own soda. Then, people will buy our soda more and make Coca-Cola go out of business!”
Jimmy laughs, “I am so smart.”
“But boss,” Jim interjected, “It’s the total solar eclipse! We won’t see it again for another two hundred years! Plus, I would like to spend time with my family,”
“Yeah, why can’t we just wait ‘til Christmas or something when everyone is on break? As much is I find Jim annoying, I have to side with him on this,” Jimbob added.
“C’mon Jimmy, you gotta stop trying to steal the formula for once. It’s not like you’re Plankton from SpongeBob. Besides, all your “great plans” have all ended badly.” Jym persuaded.
“Fine, I’ll steal the formula myself. And, you’re ALL FIRED!”
Jim, JimBob and Jym stood aghast.
“YOU CAN’T DO THAT!” yelled the three in unison.
“Sure, I can. After all, I am your boss,” replied Jimmy as he walked away.
The Next Day…
Jimmy flew to Atlanta and stayed at a hotel near the SunTrust bank where the Coca-Cola vault was held and waited for the eclipse. Jim didn’t particularly like the hotel, as it had posters everywhere saying, “EXPERIENCE THIS ONCE IN A LIFTIME DARKNESS FOR TWO MINUTES AS THE MOON COVERS THE SUN!”
“The colors don’t even match what a real eclipse looks like…” grumbled Jimmy.
The Following Day…
Jimmy woke up early in the morning and had a nice, cheap continental breakfast and prepared for the heist.
“Black ski mask… check. Black clothing… check. Strip bombs… check.” Jimmy mumbled as he was going down the list of supplies that he would need. KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
“ROOM SERVICE” yelled the room cleaner,
”COME BACK IN A BIT” replied Jimmy
Back in Louisiana...
“I can’t believed that Jimmy fired us…” said Jim sadly,
“It’s believe, Jim, not ‘believed,’ corrected Jimbob
“You stupid idiot,” said Jimbob under his breath.
“What did you say at the end, Jimbob? I couldn’t catch what you said,” said Jim.
“I didn’t say a thing.” Lied Jimbob,
“Ladies, ladies calm down,” said Jym, who is the reason the company they used to work for stayed together, “We were fired for not helping Jimmy steal the Coca-Cola formula, so I say, we go give SunTrust Bank a call to flood a section of pipe that Jimmy is crawling through severe radiation and neurotoxins.” proposed Jym
“All in favor, say aye,”
Jim, Jimbob, and Jym, said in unison “Aye.”
Behind the SunTrust Bank…
“All right, the plan is to crawl through the air vents leading into Coca-Oh… I fired everyone… I forgot,” Jimmy sighed in regret because he was starting to miss the others
”I wonder what they are up to right now…” wondered Jimmy
“Oh well, let’s get this over with.” Said Jimmy as he unscrewed the air vent grate.
The sky was beginning to darken as the eclipse was starting to happen.
“I gotta hurry before the eclipse is over,” thought Jimmy “Or everyone will be back indoors” Jimmy crawled through the air vents as quick as he could, being sure to take the right turns.
“I’m getting close! I can feel it!”
Little did Jimmy know that the bank was prepared for his heist. They closed off the section of air vent he was in and started releasing severe radiation and deadly neurotoxins. The “feeling” that he got was his DNA disintegrating due to radiation and his nerves being destroyed by the neurotoxin. Suddenly, the grate below him fell, and Jimmy fell into a room painted red with red carpeting that had a huge circle with the words ‘Coca-Cola’
“YES! I BROKE INTO THE VAULT!” yelled Jimmy as his skin fell off from the radiation. All of a sudden, Jimmy collapsed.
“Uuuugggghhhh… I don’t feel too great…” groaned Jimmy as more and more of his skin fell off. Jimmy died a slow and agonizing death from the radiation and the neurotoxin.
The Creature and the Fawn
Amy Sauvain
Very long ago, there was a creature with five heads but only two legs. The creature stared into the infinite vastness of space, and said, “It is far too lonely here…”. And so, the creature, using it’s ten arms, crafted the seven Creatures of Power: Soleo, the Creature of the Sun, Lunaki, the creature of the moon, Ila, the creature of life, Ajal, the creature of death, Galaxy, creature of space and time, Diomedes, the creature of destruction, and Lunsol, the creature of the eclipse.
One day, Lunsol did something terrible. He looked upon what Ila has created, these “humans” and he did something that was forbidden. He flew down to Earth and revealed the existence of him, and the other creatures. The creator of the creatures of power was furious, and forbid Lunsol to return to their domain. The only way for Lunsol to return is to defeat the mighty Diomedes.
This is Lunsol’s tale…
A creature with fur as white as snow, moth wings, and a long tail was walking in the forest one day. The creature looked up at the night sky and sighed, a long heavy sigh.
The creature remained looking at the sky for several minutes, until finally, he heard a growl coming from the bushes to the right of him. Curious, he walked over to the bushes and saw a small fawn, backed up against a large rock, hungry wolves surrounding the fawn. The creature was told never to interfere with the circle of life, but there was something about the fawn. The creature could not just let the fawn die to a pack of vicious wolves.
Just as one of the wolves pounced at the terrified fawn, he jumped into action, blocking the attack on the fawn. The creature let out a mighty roar, and the wolves scurried off. The fawn was shaken, clearly lost.
“What is your name?” The creature asked.
“My... my name is Aiko, sir...” The fawn replied, confused and scared.
“Where are your parents, Aiko?” The creature looked at Aiko, impatiently waiting for an answer.
“I do not know.” Aiko answered.
“Do you know where you last saw them?”
“They were running from the wolves last I saw.”
“Oh. Well, my name is Lunsol. It is nice to meet you.”
Lunsol started walking straight ahead, Aiko curiously following behind.
“Where are you going?” Aiko asked.
“To find the place where my power is at its peak.”
“Oh. Why do you have to do that?”
“To defeat Diomedes.” Lunsol replied, clearly annoyed.
“Why do you have to defeat him?”
“So I can return home.”
“How does that work?”
Lunsol sighed, and looked up at the sky. It was dawn. Suddenly, the ground started shaking. Aiko was terrified.
“What is happening?!” Aiko shouted over the sounds of terrified animals and rumbling.
“Diomedes is arriving.” Lunsol looked over at Aiko, just as a tree fell over, landing on Aiko.
“Aiko!” Lunsol yelled as he ran over to the tree that fell on Aiko.
Lunsol grunts with effort as he lifts the tree off of Aiko. Grabbing Aiko with his tail gently, he flies up into the air, waiting for the world to stop shaking. After about 8 minutes, it’s over and Lunsol lands with Aiko on his back. He gently sets Aiko on the ground.
“Aiko?” Lunsol looked at Aiko, concerned.
“Aiko! Say something, please!” Tears stream down Lunsol’s face. It was too late. Aiko didn’t move, didn’t even breathe.
Lunsol looked up into the sky.
“Diomedes, I am prepared to face you.”
The ground spilt open, under Lunsol, swallowing him whole.
“Hello, brother.” The mighty black dragon looked at Lunsol. “I heard you wish to face-“
Lunsol flew at Diomedes, not even letting him finish his sentence. Lunsol scratched and bit at Diomedes’s neck, but Diomedes pushed Lunsol away with ease.
“You are a fool. Do you really think you can defeat me?” Diomedes chuckled. “You are nothing” Diomedes said, as a black beam of energy hit Lunsol. “I will best you in combat, and you will not be able to ever return home.”
Lunsol fell to the ground. He couldn’t do it. But he had to. Suddenly, Lunsol felt it. The power inside him. Totality was being experienced! Lunsol’s fur became a pitch black with a few white markings, his eyes pure white. Lunsol roared, and a beam of energy hit Diomedes, dissolving his arm. Diomedes roared and charged towards Lunsol. Lunsol easily dodged and Diomedes hit the wall of stone. In the blink of an eye, Lunsol gave Diomedes a finishing blow, and flew up to the surface. He stood there for a few minutes before everything faded to black. When Lunsol woke, the other creatures of power were there.
The creator looked at Lunsol and smiled. “I am proud of you, son. Now… you have a choice… Stay with us, or stay on Earth, with your friend Aiko.”
“What? Aiko is dead…” Lunsol replied sadly.
“If you go back to Earth, he will be there.” Ila smiled at Lunsol, as Ajal just rolled his eyes.
“I wish to return to Earth.” Lunsol answered, happily.
Everything faded to black once again, and when he woke up, Aiko was there.
“Lunsol’s up! Lunsol’s up!” Aiko ran around Lunsol happily.
“Aiko! I’m so glad you’re ok!”
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
Lunsol looked away.
“Where are you going to go now?” Aiko asked.
“I’m going to stay with you. And protect you.”
And with that, this tale is finished. Some say you can still find Aiko and Lunsol to this day, roaming in the forests of the Earth.
Upon the Day
Emily Ballentine
Just another ordinary day, as they would’ve called it yesterday. But no, today’s not just some typical day where we toss back ideas, today everything changes in the blink of an eye.
Today the sun will disappear, not for long but it’s happening. Long enough I can count with just a few fingers, we call it the Solar Eclipse. This occurs when the moon is between the sun and the earth, and the moon covers up the sun as it passes. The sky will darken while everyone’s in fasciation, looking up in awe at this rare experience. “Beatrice!!,” I hear my name being yelled at from across the room, waking me up from my thoughts. “Yes Alex?” I replied still trying to refocus into reality.
Everyone will scatter out to the soccer field like mice soon to see the Solar Eclipse, and through it all ill have one thing on my mind, him. His names Alex. We’re friends, and have been since 1st grade. I’ve always felt this type of way towards him, I just don’t feel like complicating things if he feels otherwise.
“Hurry, let’s get our things and go outside!!” said Alex with a big smile on his face exposing his metal mouth. I grabbed my Solar Eclipse glasses and walked with him outside, everyone else was already there gazing into the suns eyes. It was almost to totality, Alex was behind me while I laid back on him, I figured he knew something was up but no he hasn’t noticed yet. I don’t know if it would be a good or bad thing if he knew, but I’ll soon come together and tell him. He leans into my ear and says “Beatrice, we need to talk.” With no expression in his voice, is it a good thing? Is it bad? chills went down my spine as all these questions rolled through my head with hesitation. “About what...?” I asked hoping I wouldn’t regret it. “Well, I’m into this girl but I don’t want things to be awkward.” He said. “Who? Just tell her if you really like her. She’s an idiot if she doesn’t like you back.” I replied. “I like you.” Alex said quietly.
What...? I couldn’t speak. I was too filled with happiness to say anything, but I knew I couldn’t just leave him hanging. “I like you too, Alex.” I said back after a long pause. It reached totality and he grabbed my hand, today everything changed. I experienced what it was like to see a Solar Eclipse. I experienced what it feels like to get over my fears and just let what I’ve felt for a while slip out of my mouth like air. As the moon was leaving the suns path, the sky lightened and everyone started groaning knowing we had to go back inside and continue our day.
I was going back through the Solar Eclipse, thinking of the sounds and the temperature changes. Realizing how great this world is, how great it is to be alive. The day was ending, and I couldn’t wait for tomorrow. Another day, another experience.
MICROFICTION BEGINS HERE
"Nightmare"
By G.P.
"Into the Darkness"
By C.A.
“Issac do you want to go do something fun?” Asked. “Sure.” Issac replied.
I softly whispered to Issac, “Follow me.”
I knew we weren’t supposed to be out this time of night, I just wanted to have some fun, plus I was in the house all day what’s a little walk going to do. We Snuck out the back door and went to the side door on the right side of the garage to access our shoes so we could walk to the gas station. It was a nice walk, it was dark the bright streetlights hovering over the sidewalk, the soothing sound of the insects. Everything was good we got so snacks and began walking back home, as we were on our way we noticed a strange man that looked very suspicious but once we passed him we thought nothing of him, we continued having fun on our walk home. DARKNESS, like my eyes were closed and I couldn’t open them, I was being swallowed up by the darkness.
“Issac” I called for my brother, no answer. Again, and again I call for him until finally I hear what I think is him answering me, but the sound is very faint, it’s like we were in a tunnel or something because I begin to hear echoing. I keep calling out to him until we meet, or at least I think we do, there’s no telling if it's him or not because I can’t see anything, I can only hear his voice. We continue to walk until finally we see light, we think it’s a street that has bright streetlights, we were right. It was a street that was just down the street from our house, we were so glad that we got away from whoever took us and we sprinted home. As we came into the driveway, we notice our parents are there, they see us.
“Where were you, I told you about sneaking out.” My mom Furiously yelled.
“MO-” I began, “I don’t want to hear it go inside” She demands.
By C.A.
“Issac do you want to go do something fun?” Asked. “Sure.” Issac replied.
I softly whispered to Issac, “Follow me.”
I knew we weren’t supposed to be out this time of night, I just wanted to have some fun, plus I was in the house all day what’s a little walk going to do. We Snuck out the back door and went to the side door on the right side of the garage to access our shoes so we could walk to the gas station. It was a nice walk, it was dark the bright streetlights hovering over the sidewalk, the soothing sound of the insects. Everything was good we got so snacks and began walking back home, as we were on our way we noticed a strange man that looked very suspicious but once we passed him we thought nothing of him, we continued having fun on our walk home. DARKNESS, like my eyes were closed and I couldn’t open them, I was being swallowed up by the darkness.
“Issac” I called for my brother, no answer. Again, and again I call for him until finally I hear what I think is him answering me, but the sound is very faint, it’s like we were in a tunnel or something because I begin to hear echoing. I keep calling out to him until we meet, or at least I think we do, there’s no telling if it's him or not because I can’t see anything, I can only hear his voice. We continue to walk until finally we see light, we think it’s a street that has bright streetlights, we were right. It was a street that was just down the street from our house, we were so glad that we got away from whoever took us and we sprinted home. As we came into the driveway, we notice our parents are there, they see us.
“Where were you, I told you about sneaking out.” My mom Furiously yelled.
“MO-” I began, “I don’t want to hear it go inside” She demands.
"Chris's Clarinet Class"
By E.K.
By E.K.
"The Backup"
By Anonymous
We’re down 10 points in the High School State Championship at Arrowhead Stadium, it has been a really tough game and we are in the last quarter. Our starting quarterback calls the cadence “Set... HIKE!” he scrambles out of the pocket and looks for his receivers, they were all covered. He takes off, after getting 5 yards “CRACK!” he was laid out by their safety and struggled to stand up, they have to take him out of the game. Coach looked to me, the backup quarterback. “Go do something special.“ he said to me. “ Yes Sir,” I responded as I put my helmet on. He told me the play, “Strong Right All Go’s T swing. Look DEEP!” I ran out onto the field. “Set... HIKE” I said nervously. Everything was in slow motion, as I stepped back I looked deep, Xavier was wide open, I wound up and threw it with everything I had, and he pulled it in to get the touchdown. We kicked the PAT and were down 3. There was 2 minutes left and they had the ball on the 40 yard line. If they get a first down they win. They run the ball once... 2 yards. They run it again... 1 yard, One more run for 2 yards. It is now 4th and 5 with 30 seconds left. They hike the ball, the quarterback drops back to pass, he throws it to my guy. He catches it. As soon as he turns towards me, “BANG!” I hit him with everything I had... The ball came out. I grabbed the ball and started running to the end zone. I was at the 20 and looked up at the time 5...4...3...2...1.. the time was running out. I have to score on this return, I was running for my life. I sprint in to the end zone to win us the game. I won MVP, but more importantly we were State Champions!
"The Championship"
By Anonymous
“Ok, guys we are tied, do the play. It’s 25-25 no ball drops. Get out there and do what you always do”, my coach said to the team huddle. Championship game. We win this we go to nationals. We lose this we die. I took my last drink of water and got on the court but coach pulled me back. “ Get out there and win this game”’ he said whisper yelling at me. Great, no pressure at all. Thanks a lot coach, I thought to myself while giggling but also trying not to freak out.
They have serve, we just need one pass. It felt like the world slowed down, this was it. It was time to do what we had been working on all season. This can be one of two things, great success or terrible failure. The setter set super high, my cue. I did my approach behind the middle hitter. Left, right, left, right. Jump, There’s a open area on the back on the opponents court. It needs to go there, NOW. I slammed the volleyball down while coming down. Come on, come on, yes right were it needs to go. Beep, beep, beep the whistle made its nose, the ref called the point for..........US!!
Dang it, we still need to win by two, Crap and I’m serving. Don’t miss Ava, I told myself. I look to my coach to see the place he wants me to serve, but he is making his jump serve signal. What?? No I cant, I have never done it in a game before but coach said. Ok I got this. I jump and did a flat serve while it flew over the net. Ok it was an ace. Wait it was an ace!!!
We won! We are going to nationals. I was really thinking about giving up when we lost those ten points. We came back though. We did it.
"Winding Roads and Blue Waves"
By Anonymous
I was hesitant to come out here to see my brother, especially with our un-resolved issues. I’m not comfortable with these winding roads either. The only good thing about this trip is being up close to the water, it’s quite beautiful actually.
As I approach another bend I attempt to turn. My steering wheel is all locked up, it’s doing absolutely nothing. I stomp on my brake... that’s broken as well. What’s going on? They worked fine a minute ago. My gas pedal is the the only thing working. I knew I shouldn’t have come out here! I can’t continue to let him take advantage of me. It’s too late now, I should’ve talked to him, to tell him how I feel.
“Oh my god!” I scream as my the front of my car collides with the guard rail. The guard rail shreds apart like string cheese and my windshield suddenly looks like a spider’s web as I go sailing over the edge. The front of my car is crumpled like a tin can, partially obscuring my view. The only thing I can see below me is the harmonious blue waves.
I try to think of the procedure. I’ve seen this somewhere, I should know how to survive this, yet nothing comes to mind. As I take it all in, I realize I’m strangely calm. I brace for impact... not fearing for my life anymore. I’m just going to let it happen-
My eyes open and it’s dark. I hear the hum and feel the breeze of my bedside fan. I take my phone off my nightstand and find my brothers contact. I can’t believe a nightmare finally made me do what Ive wanted to do for so long.
“Hey man, you up?” I ask.
“Now I am. What’s going on? It’s like two in the morning.” He says groggily.
“I think we need to talk.”
"The Story of Aidan and Esmeralda"
By Anonymous
“I’m so sorry, Esmeralda. I’m out of options. Every other option ends with more people dead than necessary.” Aidan pleaded with a knife in his hand. “Get away from me! I won’t just stand here and let you kill me! I have to at least try to survive,” Esmeralda cried. “E believe me when I say I don’t want to kill you. Because I-I- I love you!” Aidan yelled. “Well, I don’t love you back. You lost your chance at love when you betrayed me!” Esmeralda replied.
Esmeralda and Aidan had traveled together for two weeks on two different quests that were somehow connected. And along the way they had found something that not many people believed was real, true love. The only problem was that they had both denied being in love because it complicated both of their quests.
Aidan was barely an inch away from Esmeralda, as he quietly said, “you are as beautiful as the stars, I could look at you all day and night and never get tired of what I see. Even if I say anything different, during these last two weeks I fell in love with you and I am sure you fell in love with me. I will always hope we will meet in the afterlife and fulfill our love for each other. Please forgive me.” With those last words, Aidan stabbed Esmeralda in the stomach.
Her final words were, “I always knew that I would die someday. I love you,” Esmeralda said tears running down her cheek. “Till death reunites us.” With that last statement, Aidan knelt down next to her dead body and cried. Behind Aidan another figure had appeared, one look at the figure and you would guess that he was a villain, he was evil. But he really wasn’t. He just encouraged evil from the background. That is why, the real villain of this story is Aidan Sylvester Cyprus who killed Esmeralda Lucilla Grace.
Theme statement: Life is a disappointment. Or life isn’t always a fairytale.
Figurative Language: you are as beautiful as the stars is a simile.
"Schizophrenia"
By Anonymous
He stumbles home after his life had seemingly crumbled before his eyes. Everything he cared about is, was, and had been gone for weeks. But this was his final straw, losing the only person he cared about and who he thought cared about him, only to find that their relationship was never real. That she only stayed because she felt like he needed her, but he didn’t want pity, it only made things worse when everything was over.
His thoughts swirled in his head trying to take everything in at once, trying to finally understand what his life has come to. But he couldn’t, they were seared in the dark place that they had been stuck in for years. The images and insults burned into his thoughts like a forest fire, conquering everything until nothing was left but ash and devastation. He couldn’t take the pain, so he tried to relieve it, shoving dry pills down his throat, one after another, struggling to swallow them all. He wandered outside in defeat, letting his body give into the battle he had been fighting for years.
And just like that the images flooded into view, surrounding him like ants on a piece of sticky candy. They were stuck in view cursing and insulting him. His boss, co-workers, girlfriend, family, friends, they all surrounded him.
He dropped to his knees, screaming, “Please, make it stop, make it stop!”
Over and over, until he heard, a small voice that prevailed through the dozens in his head.
“Sir” she said, hand over her taser, “I need you to stand up and turn around, I’m going to put you in handcuffs and pat you down, then we can discuss what’s going on.”
Immediately the directions were clear in his head and he did as told. The voices, the images, they disappeared, and a new image of the one person who cared, shone through the others and led him into a car that would take him to the hospital, where he was understood. And for the first time in years, he was finally at peace.
"Northstar High School"
By K.G.
"Banished"
By Anonymous
By Anonymous
"The Goose in the Tree"
By G
By G
"Sisterly Love"
By K
By K
"The Rabbit"
By S
By S
"The Black Bag"
By A.G.
By A.G.
"Confessed But Not Understood"
By L.C.
By L.C.
"Most Wanted"
By D.C.
By D.C.
"Trapped"
By T.M.
Annie sat staring at her feet in the cold, dark room that she was kept in. She was planning her escape. Annie was kidnapped about four years ago when she wandered into the woods without her parents permission. She was taken away by a strange lady while she was walking down a path. Even since she’s been trapped in this creepy little house in the woods with nobody except that strange lady.
Annie planned that tonight when sun went down and her kidnapper is sleeping she would sneak out the back of the house and then she would finally be reunited with her family. Annie waited and waited until it got dark and the lady was finally asleep. She decided that the time was now. She tip toed through the house trying not to make a single noise. It pitch black and Annie couldn’t see a thing! This caused her to bump into a table causing a glass to fall over. The sound woke up her kidnapper.
“What’s happening out there!” She shouted. Annie could hear her start to make her way out of her room. She was so scared. Her faced look liked she had just seen a ghost. She couldn’t think of anything else to do so she ran. She kicked open the door and started running trying to remember how to get out of the woods and back to her family. She hadn’t been outside in ages and she was very weak. She wasn’t able to run for to long. Annie was sure that she was safe now. She looked around and tried to remember where she might be and how to get home. But all of a sudden a pair of arms grabbed her. Her kidnapper has found her. Annie tries to fight back but she is just not strong enough.
“Noooooo! Somebody help me!!” Annie screams. But its useless no one can hear her. The lady drags Annie back to the house and locks her in another room. This time there’s no escaping. Annie is trapped once again.
"Quest for Paridise"
By E.H.
Jack and his crew of pirates have been sailing for exactly 3 weeks, and 6 days. They left their homeland, a corrupt land, in search of a land of paradise where they could live in peace. So they had taken one of the largest ships of their land in order to reach the special land. The first weeks were spent actually learning how to use a pirate ship. “Oi captain!” Jack hears one his crew member shout, “I’ve spotted something in the distance!” The captain strolls over to him, and sure enough there’s a dark silhouette out in the distance, but what is it? Could it be the land they’ve been searching for? It could also just be another island, until it got closer, and closer. It was the outline of another ship, BOOM, CRASH.
The ship rocks and everyone is panicking. The ship had started launching explosions of cannonballs at them. It was clearly had much more firepower then Jack’s ship. The place was in utter chaos, crew mates running around in confusion, bumping into each other, battling over supplies. They were never making it out at this rate. Jack’s determination to not give up made him speak up,“Listen up! We need to work together to get through this! If we want to get through this we can not panic. We can get through this, every one just take your normal position and fight!” Jack declared. His words brought courage and determination to the rest of the people aboard the boat. As they follow procedure things go a lot smoother and more successful.
They infiltrate the adversary boat and take the captain hostage. The enemy think it’s over for them, but luckily Jack and his crew were very merciful. They would overlook it, if they promised to not attack his ship upon departure. Reluctantly, they agreed because their captain was very important. This battle boosted the crews morale and left them with high hopes. The quest for paradise, was even closer to become a reality from a dream.
"The Quarantine"
By F.A.
Rowan was scavenging when he heard it. The quarantine zone had been set up months ago to keep in the infection and he had been trapped inside. If someone caught the infection it changed them to the point of no return. He heard the scream before he saw it. It’s scream like metal scraping against metal.
“Run.” Rowan sprinted out of the building and out onto the road, it instantly started to chase him.
Rowan ran with no thought just running. He knew that if he ran to his hideout it would follow him and his hideout would be compromised so he continued to run down the derelict streets of his home, dodging anything in his path. Rowan heard the thing scream again and it confirmed his worries, it was catching up to him. He needed a plan and that’s when he saw the bridge ahead of him, he started to turn left when he realized that if he did go left it would get to him so, he continued on.
Rowan ran straight for the bridge seeing that it had broken in the middle splitting the bridge in two. He ran faster and faster as the thing screamed again. He made it onto the bridge and looked over his shoulder to see how far the thing was except it wasn’t just one, it was three chasing him now. This made him go even faster as he ran to the edge of the gap. He was just about to run off the edge when he jumped, Rowan soared through the air as he flailed his arms. He caught the edge of the other side and pulled himself up and turned around to look back to the other side and saw them standing on the edge. They looked down a the rushing water, screamed at him and left.
“ They didn’t want to risk falling… I made it. I made it!” Rowan said with relief. He had taken the risk and it paid of. He started the walk home being carful not to get chased again.
"Untitled"
By B.M.
I sat in front on my plate of “food” thinking about what the judge said all that time ago “lifetime sentence” those words hit me like a train, but I didn’t do it, I couldn’t do it, but all signs pointed towards me.
“The man who framed me is going to pay” I groaned under my breath everyone else in the prison cafeteria burst into laughter, “that’s what everyone says, but it never seems to happen!” One of the inmates said. I get up and head to my cell, to do what I’ve been doing every day for the past month, saw. I grab the file I hid in my cell and saw at the iron windows, it’s felt like an eternity every day the same thing search, saw, cover repeat. I’ve almost cut through all the bars using a mixture of anything I can get my hands on to make something that looks identical to iron, but as soft as plastic. I fill the gaps I’ve cut with the files with this mixture everyday, but one day the last bar breaks lose, that day was the day is the day but then I here screaming and then more screaming then in no time at all my plan falls apart. Lockdown, all cells searched the alarms go off I jump and make the worst mistake in my life, the bar slips I watch as it falls down the 5 story fall and listen to the clank as it slams on the ground.
I Panic, I haven’t planned to do this now i don’t have anyway to get down, safely, I hear footsteps running up to my cell I smash the bars easily Thanks to the mixture and I jump. Pushing myself off the window hopefully landing in the water, hoping this isn’t the end. I hit the water get to shore and RUN ignoring the incredible pain in my leg abandoning everything I knew and loved, not knowing to this day if it was worth it, but one thing I do know is, the man who framed me will pay.
"Gunshots"
By J.W.
The sirens, the screams, the running, the gun, the darkness. This is all I remember about the day I died. It started like a normal day at East Wood High. I was waiting for my boyfriend, Isaac, during passing period like I always do. Soon enough, I saw him down the hall walking towards my locker. He wore that cheesy grin that he always seemed to have. Little did I know that that was the last time I would see that lovable grin. BOOM BOOM. Gunshots.
My world stopped. It’s hard to tell you what happened after those shots were fired. I’m honestly still trying to piece it together myself. People were running in all directions, knocking each other over, and not bothering to help people back up. The lockdown sirens went over the intercom and a voice repeated the same words over, and over again. “Lockdown, Lockdown, Lockdown.” I saw kids sprinting to get into rooms, teachers grabbing the first person they saw. Teens rushed to classrooms, but it was to late. The doors were already locked.
Then I saw him. The tall, dark figure emerging from the other hallway, gun in hand. I wanted to scream, but no words would come out. He started firing. I saw boys, girls, teachers all fall down, their eyes wide open and lifeless. I scanned the hall for Isaac praying he had made it into a classroom. He hadn’t. The next thing I knew Isaac was running towards me screaming my name, as I stared lifelessly down the barrel of gun. I closed my eyes preparing myself for pain. It never came. Someone else took the bullet.
Isaac collapsed in my arms, his breath shallow and weak. A tear streaming down his cheek. When I had finally processed what was happening, Isaacs heart had already stopped, and along with it, mine shattered. I screamed. The most horrendous scream you can imagine. The tears came so fast I could barely breath. I saw the shooter once again. “SHOOT ME! SHOOT ME!” I screamed. “I’m already good as dead.” Then, everything went dark.
"The Package Heist"
By B.P.
It was a normal day for Brian. He had just finished dropping off a letter and was on his very last delivery. The last address took him to a seedier part of town where he was to deliver a very expensive looking package.
Once he arrived at the address, he discovered that the was no house there, but instead he discovered an empty lot with weeds cropping up in between cracks in the pavement. He was beginning to think that he had been set up.
He wrote a note about the clearly mis-addressed package on his clipboard and he made his way back to his car. Someone tapped him on the shoulder. Brian must have jumped four feet in the air. He turned a round slowly and discovered that an army of scary looking men were coming out of the woodwork
“Don’t get any closer!” Brian yelled. They got closer.
“You better leave me alone or… I’ll-I’ll-” Brian fainted.
When he came to, Brian was in the back of a truck with his hands zip-tied around his back. The vehicle came to a screeching halt, and the men dragged him outside, then into a filthy ware house. A huge man stood behind a desk in in the center of the structure. When he noticed that Brian had arrived he bent down to and set a diminutive girl in pink on the top of the table.
“All right ” the little girl said with the highest pitched voice you could imagine. “hand over that package” Brian did so without hesitation.
The second the girl had the package in her hands she ripped at the packaging with an intensity that made Brian cower in fear. When the last of the packaging was ripped to shreds she held a top of the line doll.
“EEEEEEEEK!!!!” She squealed in joy. “lets go dad! Our work here is done!”
Her father sighed and walked out the door behind her.
“Guys?” Brian called. “GUYS?!? You forgot to untie me!!” Brian stood up shakily and began potato-sack-hoping back to his apartment.
"Car Crash"
By Anonymous
By T.M.
Annie sat staring at her feet in the cold, dark room that she was kept in. She was planning her escape. Annie was kidnapped about four years ago when she wandered into the woods without her parents permission. She was taken away by a strange lady while she was walking down a path. Even since she’s been trapped in this creepy little house in the woods with nobody except that strange lady.
Annie planned that tonight when sun went down and her kidnapper is sleeping she would sneak out the back of the house and then she would finally be reunited with her family. Annie waited and waited until it got dark and the lady was finally asleep. She decided that the time was now. She tip toed through the house trying not to make a single noise. It pitch black and Annie couldn’t see a thing! This caused her to bump into a table causing a glass to fall over. The sound woke up her kidnapper.
“What’s happening out there!” She shouted. Annie could hear her start to make her way out of her room. She was so scared. Her faced look liked she had just seen a ghost. She couldn’t think of anything else to do so she ran. She kicked open the door and started running trying to remember how to get out of the woods and back to her family. She hadn’t been outside in ages and she was very weak. She wasn’t able to run for to long. Annie was sure that she was safe now. She looked around and tried to remember where she might be and how to get home. But all of a sudden a pair of arms grabbed her. Her kidnapper has found her. Annie tries to fight back but she is just not strong enough.
“Noooooo! Somebody help me!!” Annie screams. But its useless no one can hear her. The lady drags Annie back to the house and locks her in another room. This time there’s no escaping. Annie is trapped once again.
"Quest for Paridise"
By E.H.
Jack and his crew of pirates have been sailing for exactly 3 weeks, and 6 days. They left their homeland, a corrupt land, in search of a land of paradise where they could live in peace. So they had taken one of the largest ships of their land in order to reach the special land. The first weeks were spent actually learning how to use a pirate ship. “Oi captain!” Jack hears one his crew member shout, “I’ve spotted something in the distance!” The captain strolls over to him, and sure enough there’s a dark silhouette out in the distance, but what is it? Could it be the land they’ve been searching for? It could also just be another island, until it got closer, and closer. It was the outline of another ship, BOOM, CRASH.
The ship rocks and everyone is panicking. The ship had started launching explosions of cannonballs at them. It was clearly had much more firepower then Jack’s ship. The place was in utter chaos, crew mates running around in confusion, bumping into each other, battling over supplies. They were never making it out at this rate. Jack’s determination to not give up made him speak up,“Listen up! We need to work together to get through this! If we want to get through this we can not panic. We can get through this, every one just take your normal position and fight!” Jack declared. His words brought courage and determination to the rest of the people aboard the boat. As they follow procedure things go a lot smoother and more successful.
They infiltrate the adversary boat and take the captain hostage. The enemy think it’s over for them, but luckily Jack and his crew were very merciful. They would overlook it, if they promised to not attack his ship upon departure. Reluctantly, they agreed because their captain was very important. This battle boosted the crews morale and left them with high hopes. The quest for paradise, was even closer to become a reality from a dream.
"The Quarantine"
By F.A.
Rowan was scavenging when he heard it. The quarantine zone had been set up months ago to keep in the infection and he had been trapped inside. If someone caught the infection it changed them to the point of no return. He heard the scream before he saw it. It’s scream like metal scraping against metal.
“Run.” Rowan sprinted out of the building and out onto the road, it instantly started to chase him.
Rowan ran with no thought just running. He knew that if he ran to his hideout it would follow him and his hideout would be compromised so he continued to run down the derelict streets of his home, dodging anything in his path. Rowan heard the thing scream again and it confirmed his worries, it was catching up to him. He needed a plan and that’s when he saw the bridge ahead of him, he started to turn left when he realized that if he did go left it would get to him so, he continued on.
Rowan ran straight for the bridge seeing that it had broken in the middle splitting the bridge in two. He ran faster and faster as the thing screamed again. He made it onto the bridge and looked over his shoulder to see how far the thing was except it wasn’t just one, it was three chasing him now. This made him go even faster as he ran to the edge of the gap. He was just about to run off the edge when he jumped, Rowan soared through the air as he flailed his arms. He caught the edge of the other side and pulled himself up and turned around to look back to the other side and saw them standing on the edge. They looked down a the rushing water, screamed at him and left.
“ They didn’t want to risk falling… I made it. I made it!” Rowan said with relief. He had taken the risk and it paid of. He started the walk home being carful not to get chased again.
"Untitled"
By B.M.
I sat in front on my plate of “food” thinking about what the judge said all that time ago “lifetime sentence” those words hit me like a train, but I didn’t do it, I couldn’t do it, but all signs pointed towards me.
“The man who framed me is going to pay” I groaned under my breath everyone else in the prison cafeteria burst into laughter, “that’s what everyone says, but it never seems to happen!” One of the inmates said. I get up and head to my cell, to do what I’ve been doing every day for the past month, saw. I grab the file I hid in my cell and saw at the iron windows, it’s felt like an eternity every day the same thing search, saw, cover repeat. I’ve almost cut through all the bars using a mixture of anything I can get my hands on to make something that looks identical to iron, but as soft as plastic. I fill the gaps I’ve cut with the files with this mixture everyday, but one day the last bar breaks lose, that day was the day is the day but then I here screaming and then more screaming then in no time at all my plan falls apart. Lockdown, all cells searched the alarms go off I jump and make the worst mistake in my life, the bar slips I watch as it falls down the 5 story fall and listen to the clank as it slams on the ground.
I Panic, I haven’t planned to do this now i don’t have anyway to get down, safely, I hear footsteps running up to my cell I smash the bars easily Thanks to the mixture and I jump. Pushing myself off the window hopefully landing in the water, hoping this isn’t the end. I hit the water get to shore and RUN ignoring the incredible pain in my leg abandoning everything I knew and loved, not knowing to this day if it was worth it, but one thing I do know is, the man who framed me will pay.
"Gunshots"
By J.W.
The sirens, the screams, the running, the gun, the darkness. This is all I remember about the day I died. It started like a normal day at East Wood High. I was waiting for my boyfriend, Isaac, during passing period like I always do. Soon enough, I saw him down the hall walking towards my locker. He wore that cheesy grin that he always seemed to have. Little did I know that that was the last time I would see that lovable grin. BOOM BOOM. Gunshots.
My world stopped. It’s hard to tell you what happened after those shots were fired. I’m honestly still trying to piece it together myself. People were running in all directions, knocking each other over, and not bothering to help people back up. The lockdown sirens went over the intercom and a voice repeated the same words over, and over again. “Lockdown, Lockdown, Lockdown.” I saw kids sprinting to get into rooms, teachers grabbing the first person they saw. Teens rushed to classrooms, but it was to late. The doors were already locked.
Then I saw him. The tall, dark figure emerging from the other hallway, gun in hand. I wanted to scream, but no words would come out. He started firing. I saw boys, girls, teachers all fall down, their eyes wide open and lifeless. I scanned the hall for Isaac praying he had made it into a classroom. He hadn’t. The next thing I knew Isaac was running towards me screaming my name, as I stared lifelessly down the barrel of gun. I closed my eyes preparing myself for pain. It never came. Someone else took the bullet.
Isaac collapsed in my arms, his breath shallow and weak. A tear streaming down his cheek. When I had finally processed what was happening, Isaacs heart had already stopped, and along with it, mine shattered. I screamed. The most horrendous scream you can imagine. The tears came so fast I could barely breath. I saw the shooter once again. “SHOOT ME! SHOOT ME!” I screamed. “I’m already good as dead.” Then, everything went dark.
"The Package Heist"
By B.P.
It was a normal day for Brian. He had just finished dropping off a letter and was on his very last delivery. The last address took him to a seedier part of town where he was to deliver a very expensive looking package.
Once he arrived at the address, he discovered that the was no house there, but instead he discovered an empty lot with weeds cropping up in between cracks in the pavement. He was beginning to think that he had been set up.
He wrote a note about the clearly mis-addressed package on his clipboard and he made his way back to his car. Someone tapped him on the shoulder. Brian must have jumped four feet in the air. He turned a round slowly and discovered that an army of scary looking men were coming out of the woodwork
“Don’t get any closer!” Brian yelled. They got closer.
“You better leave me alone or… I’ll-I’ll-” Brian fainted.
When he came to, Brian was in the back of a truck with his hands zip-tied around his back. The vehicle came to a screeching halt, and the men dragged him outside, then into a filthy ware house. A huge man stood behind a desk in in the center of the structure. When he noticed that Brian had arrived he bent down to and set a diminutive girl in pink on the top of the table.
“All right ” the little girl said with the highest pitched voice you could imagine. “hand over that package” Brian did so without hesitation.
The second the girl had the package in her hands she ripped at the packaging with an intensity that made Brian cower in fear. When the last of the packaging was ripped to shreds she held a top of the line doll.
“EEEEEEEEK!!!!” She squealed in joy. “lets go dad! Our work here is done!”
Her father sighed and walked out the door behind her.
“Guys?” Brian called. “GUYS?!? You forgot to untie me!!” Brian stood up shakily and began potato-sack-hoping back to his apartment.
"Car Crash"
By Anonymous
"The Time My Two-Headed Alien Cousin Featured Me in His Freakshow"
By S.
By S.
"The Vacation"
By W.W.
By W.W.
"The Field"
By Anonymous
By Anonymous
"The Birthmark"
By O.B.
By O.B.
"Stuck in the Sink Again"
By A.F.
I write this sitting in the kitchen sink. I just sit there, stuck. This isn’t the first time I’ve gotten stuck in the sink and it probably won’t be the last. I call for help and my other two sisters who I’m triplets with come. Lyra and Leah.
“You stuck?” Lyra asks me in a monotone voice. I then nod in response, “This is the 3rd time this week, be more careful Linzy.” Lyra says to me. I can tell that she is worried about me even though she won’t admit it.
“How did you get in the sink anyways LInzy?” Leah asks me.
“Well, I climbed into it and got stuck, it’s as easy as that!” I say happily.
“You really need to be more careful Linzy, Mom doesn’t want to have to call the fire department to get you out again.” Lyra says as she comes over to me and starts to try to help me out of the sink. Leah comes over and tries as well. But I’m too suck this time.
“I’ll go get Quinn.” Lyra says as she starts to walk off. Quinn is our older sister. She’s almost an adult. And she is trying to get strong so she can work for the military when she becomes an adult.
When Lyra gets back with Quinn, Quinn tries to pull me out and then she uses her ability and I’m suddenly lighter, and she pulls me out easily. I feel like I turned into a stuffed animal.
“Stop going into the sink,” Quinn says to me. I just giggle in response. Quinn then sets me down and sighs, “If you keep this up you could get badly injured Linzy. So for us just be more careful.”
“Okay,” I say in a silly tone, “I’ll try, but only in the house, not outside!”
I then run outside and quickly climb up a tree and then I forget how to get down. Making me now stuck in a tree. Lyra then comes outside and sighs, then she climbs up the tree and sits next to me.
"New School"
By D.B.
The world is falling apart. It’s breaking. It’s going to shatter. It’s going to split in two and I’m gonna be the one to fall in between. I had seen this all happen with my own eyes, I think.
I open the door to my new school’s classroom.
EYES.
GAZING.
DON’T LOOK BACK AT THEM.
THEY HATE YOU.
YOU IDIOT.
WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING HERE?
STOP IT.
YOU CAN STILL LEAVE.
I stand in the doorway.
I manage to walk to the first empty desk I see.
The teachers stare at me
LOOK WHAT YOU’VE DONE.
“Sorry, someone already sits there, could you move to a different desk?”
MORON.
“…Sure..” I say as I stand up out of my chair. I hear a slight snickering around the room.
They’re laughing at me.
“Are you new here?”
“…” I nod up and down, awkwardly.
“What’s your name?”
“…Dylan.” I somehow manage to stumble out my own name.
“Oh. Hi Dylan!”
I smile.
They’re nice.
Maybe it won’t be as bad as I made it out to be.
"History Has Failed Us, But No Matter"
By E.B.
Here I am in the trenches of the First World War drenched in sweat and knee-deep in mud. This is not what we were promised. We we were promised glory and the chance to see the world, but instead we're stuck here with nothing but mud and blood in foreign land trying to understand. Where is this greatness I’ve been told?
Day 534 we are still at a stalemate, but tomorrow we hope we can break the German line at noon. Tomorrow we will charge!
Day 535 today we charge. We are lined up in the trenches waiting for the order to go ahead. Then suddenly we hear the whistle go and 5,000 of us begin to charge. The enemy fire starts up instantly. I hear bullets wizzing overhead. I see men falling, gunned down like animals as artillery is firing killing dozens of men at once.
Finally, we reach the trench. We jump in face-to-face. The enemy charges me with his knife. He tackled me to the ground. I managed to grab his knife, but he is still on top of me trying to jam his knife in my neck. The knife keeps getting closer to the point it touches me. Then suddenly a fellow soldier pushes him off only to be stabbed himself but giving me the chase to grab my knife and jam it into the German soldier's neck killing him.
I get the chance to check in on my fellow soldier. As he was laying there lifeless, I close his eyes and go to help the rest of the men, but there are no enemies to fight. They have all surrendered. The trench is ours.
That day 3000 men died and many more to come in the following years.
"Never Give Up"
By C.D.
One day there was this boy that always loved sports especially baseball he would go outside every day and practice everyday because he wanted to play baseball . So one day he came up to his parents and asked if he could play baseball. They said yes and he said he would make sure to give it everything he got everyday . So he would go outside every day practicing and practicing so he could get better at it. So he practiced and practiced and then one day his first game came he was so happy and excite . He was ready for the game and so the had their warmup before the game and shortly after that the game started. So everyone to their positions so he goes to his position and he make a lot of good plays . Then he gets in the dugout and the coach said good job. And before you know it he is up to bat so he gets up to the plate and is pretty nervous when he gets up to the plate he gets ready and the pitch is coming as fast as lightning and the ball crosses the plate and strike one so he regroups. Then gets ready the ball comes straight towards the plate and strike 2 so he gets ready the pitch comes and strike 3 he strikes out and he is really upset . He did not want to keep playing but the coach comes up to him and said its just one at bat you will do better next time. And give it everything you got. And before he knows it he is up to bat again and he gets ready he is in a walk-off situation the winning run is at first so he gets ready the pitch comes and he hits it deep into left if sails over the wall and he walked off the game.
"The Haunted Honeymoon"
By Y.A.
A newly married couple, Adam and Rose, had been booked a luxurious room at a hotel. They had booked it for their honeymoon. They were excited to see what kind of experiences that this would bring them. They were joyful, to be able to have fun. Although, they did notice the priest when they first arrived. Of course, they thought this was weird, strange. It seemed as if he was preparing himself for a ritual of some kind. Since they found it weird, Adam and Rose decided to ask the staff. The manager, who had been speaking to the priest earlier, spoke truthfully and told them not to bother asking because some hotel guests had called the priest for some family rituals. The lovers decided to ignore the situation and to enjoy their day on the beach. Once they enjoyed their time together, they returned to the hotel. In the middle of the night, Rose woke up due to some cold chills. It felt like it was snowing on top of her. Regardless, she decided to take a drink of water. Looking around, she noticed that her husband was not there. She thought he probably got up to go to the bathroom so she just rested and dozed off. Surprisingly, she heard Adam’s voice. “Honey, you woke up,” she heard. “I didn’t mean to wake you.” She opened her eyes at the voice that spoke, only to see that Adam was not in the room. “Why’d you turn off all the lights?”. Instead of answering her question, Adam asked one of his own. He asked her if she’d ever cheat on him. Angered by his question, she said no and turned on the lights. Adam wasn’t there. Adam walked through the door, seeing the tears in his wife’s eyes, which freaked him out. She asked where he was, he said he had been downstairs getting some fresh air. She told him she wanted to leave, and they left the same night. The next day, the hotel manager called to apologize for the bad service. Turns out that the week before they had visited, a newly wedded couple had come to spend their honeymoon at the hotel. The man had caught the wife cheating on him so he jumped off a building, killing himself. Now, he haunts newly wedded women at the hotel. Things aren’t always as they seem, they could be dangerous.
"Zena, Clarissa, and the Evil Blaze"
By A.A.
Zena is a 15 year old girl she and Clarissa have been friends ever since Zena found out they were superheroes. Blaze has been terrorizing her hometown but now she has decided to fight back. Zena is fighting the evil Blaze on a hot air balloon. She zaps him, he blocks it. Zena shoots backwards and almost tumbles out, feeling dazed she gets up but Blaze kicks her out of the balloon. She falls onto the sand. She’s alive, but she is deserted in the desert. PLOP. “Never mind I’m not deserted” she says as Clarissa falls down. Zena and Clarissa wandered for two days and two nights. They become weary, then they find an oasis, but it’s not filled with water but with coffee! “Look!” Clarissa says. Zena looks and they see a cooler full of cold water bottles. They drink the water and coffee for energy soon they make it back to Coral Village. They see that Blaze is taking over the city! They take the burning old coffee and put it near him so he drinks it. Blaze drinks the disgusting old coffee, he looks at the cup disgusted and starts to barf. While he is busy Zena and Clarissa help evacuate the citizens. “It’s about to get messy” Zena says while cracking her knuckles. Blaze stops barfing and looks over at Zena and Clarissa and is very scared. He presses the button on his chest and begins to grow into a deadly robot suit. “Uh, have you seen anything like this?” Zena shakes her head. Then Zena starts running towards him. She climbs up a building and jumps onto the Blaze. She tries to pull the wires apart but gets thrown off she is knocked out. Clarissa starts running left then right then left so it confuses Blaze and he starts walking around and falls down trapping Clarissa. Zena stirs and she hears a call for help “Zena!” Zena rises up and jumps up on Blaze and yanks the wires. Blaze stands still and falls. She has saved the village!
"Winnie the Pooh Adventure"
By E.A.
On a cold icy day, Winnie the Pooh decided to pack up his honey and painting supplies, and go to Hawaii to paint its landscape and sunsets. And of course to enjoy Hawaii’s warm sunny days!
On the plane ride Winnie was having a hard time to stay calm since he is afraid of flying, which he didn’t think about before buying his plane ticket. “Are you ok mister?” Asked the stranger in the neighboring plane seat.
“I’m all right its just I get nervous and anxiety while flying.” Answered Pooh, “well then here have this.” The kind stranger hands Winnie a soft little pale blue blanket. “It calms me down when I get anxiety.” The kind stranger confessed. “Thank you so much.” Winnie said calmly as he cuddles up into the blanket.
As Winnie calmed down, him and the stranger had long conversations. A few hours later the plane landed, and Winnie tried giving the blanket back to the kind stranger, but the stranger insisted for Pooh to keep it. And they departed.
After a month of nice warm weather in Hawaii, the weather took the turn for the worse, and stormed for weeks on end. Winnie and the kind stranger ran into each other. But the kind stranger seemed to be stressed and anxious. After Winnie tried to get her open up why she was stressed. The stranger finally confessed that the blanket helped with her anxiety during storms but she still insisted for Pooh to keep the blanket for the plane ride back home.
So every day Pooh and the stranger met up and painted the storm on canvases. The stranger was having a hard time painting. When Pooh notices her struggling, he gives her a special paintbrush that been with him for his whole life ever since he was five. After the stranger insisted on Pooh to keep the brush he still gave it to her. And the stranger started to get better at painting. A few weeks later Pooh departed Hawaii and thought about the kindness the stranger showed to him.
And Pooh still to this day thinks about the kindness the stranger displayed towards him, and how he is going to show kindness anyone even strangers.
"Come Back"
By A.B.
Blood dripped from the knife that was resting on the stone alter. Leaf sat on the ground clutching his boyfriends corpse in his arms as tears streamed down his face. “I’m sorry my love, please forgive me” Leaf whispered hoping his boyfriend would respond and he could hear his voice one last time. Unfortunately for him the corpse said nothing in response. Leaf began to silently pray to the gods hoping that one of them would help him but to Leaf’s surprise it was not a god that answered his prayers. A demon appeared before Leaf. It stood at over seven feet tall with large black horns protruding from its head, leathery bat wings on its back, and red eyes that seemed to glow in the late evening light. The demon spoke in a deep and low tone, “ah I see the mortal wishes to be with his boyfriend again.” “Yes I do, please help me” Leaf replied, his voice threatening to break at any moment. The demon waited a moment before responding, “hm, alright.” Leaf smiled at the thought of his boyfriend being alive once more. Possibility’s of all the things he and his boyfriend could do raced through his head. Marriage, adoption, getting to live out their lives together until they grew old and died a natural death. The demon took a step towards Leaf and snapped its fingers. Leafs lifeless body collapsed on the ground, still holding onto his boyfriends corpse. The demon chuckled, “guess he should have asked me to bring his boyfriend back to life.”
"Untitled"
By B.E.
Mandalore, now a very calm planet after the purge of those swore to their creed, mandalorians. The great purge was an effort by the empire to steal all the Beskar armor from the mandalorians. But what was left of them begun to claim what was rightfully theirs, it started with Din Djaren who rescued a force sensitive child from the empire, he brought him to his own kind, he left with an old Jedi Ashoka tano. But now, the empire want back what they stole, so the bring a dreadnought star destroyer to mandalore. The star destroyer comes out of hyperspace into the atmosphere of mandalore, but the mandalorian can see it coming, the dreadnought drops the cannon down below the ship, its about to open fire, but just then, the Razor Crest (which is a ship off the empire and new republic grid, it’s a ghost) flies up and lands in the hangar bay. Some heavy infantry troops fly up with their flight packs and they fire upon the dreadnought. The pilot of the Razor Crest was non other than Din Djaren. He flew out of his ship wielding the darksaber, he took put the nearby stormtroopers and went to the main bridge, he got up there and killed some more troops,but he took the darksaber and all of its strength and destroyed all the main consoles of the ship and then he led it on a straight collision course straight to the planet of Dathomir (the home planet of Darth Maul). Din Djaren flies back to the ground in his ship and they have a great celebration because they also got more Beskar armor from the dreadnought.
"The Theif"
By H.H.
A man walks through a door into a large chamber, “please, sit down” I say as I turn around to meet the man face to face. it was obvious the man was had not worked in environments like this before, considering the man was visibly overheating. “I assume you have what I need, correct?” I said“Is this what your looking for?” The man pulled out a small bag, with something thrashing about in the bag. He knew that was it, considering that it had a lot of fight to it, despite being in a situation it could not escape. “Why yes, I believe so, now hand it over, if you so will” I replied.“I will, but I need something in return” the man said. I took a deep sigh, then pulled out the sword. Excalibur and laid it on the table. “This?” I offered, knowing the answer was already yes. “No” I reevaluated the man. How could he say no? That sword Is irresistible to every man. This man is not what he first thought though, he’s not overheating, but merely just faking it. The man is a thief, But if this man is not here for the Excalibur, then what is he here for? Does he know about the- creak, then I realized I had let my guard down. I took the Excalibur and threw it behind me to hit a small creature, and heard that sword turn the creature into dust. I turned back toward the man but he had already bolted for the door and was out. No matter, his hell hounds will take care of him as he heard the sound of a scream. He walked over to the pile of ash, it had stolen his keys to the vault of souls. How did they know about the vault? He heard the sound of one of his hell hounds coming up behind him, he turned around and saw it had the bag. He released what was inside of it, revealing a raven, who said “you really should have expected that.”
By A.F.
I write this sitting in the kitchen sink. I just sit there, stuck. This isn’t the first time I’ve gotten stuck in the sink and it probably won’t be the last. I call for help and my other two sisters who I’m triplets with come. Lyra and Leah.
“You stuck?” Lyra asks me in a monotone voice. I then nod in response, “This is the 3rd time this week, be more careful Linzy.” Lyra says to me. I can tell that she is worried about me even though she won’t admit it.
“How did you get in the sink anyways LInzy?” Leah asks me.
“Well, I climbed into it and got stuck, it’s as easy as that!” I say happily.
“You really need to be more careful Linzy, Mom doesn’t want to have to call the fire department to get you out again.” Lyra says as she comes over to me and starts to try to help me out of the sink. Leah comes over and tries as well. But I’m too suck this time.
“I’ll go get Quinn.” Lyra says as she starts to walk off. Quinn is our older sister. She’s almost an adult. And she is trying to get strong so she can work for the military when she becomes an adult.
When Lyra gets back with Quinn, Quinn tries to pull me out and then she uses her ability and I’m suddenly lighter, and she pulls me out easily. I feel like I turned into a stuffed animal.
“Stop going into the sink,” Quinn says to me. I just giggle in response. Quinn then sets me down and sighs, “If you keep this up you could get badly injured Linzy. So for us just be more careful.”
“Okay,” I say in a silly tone, “I’ll try, but only in the house, not outside!”
I then run outside and quickly climb up a tree and then I forget how to get down. Making me now stuck in a tree. Lyra then comes outside and sighs, then she climbs up the tree and sits next to me.
"New School"
By D.B.
The world is falling apart. It’s breaking. It’s going to shatter. It’s going to split in two and I’m gonna be the one to fall in between. I had seen this all happen with my own eyes, I think.
I open the door to my new school’s classroom.
EYES.
GAZING.
DON’T LOOK BACK AT THEM.
THEY HATE YOU.
YOU IDIOT.
WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING HERE?
STOP IT.
YOU CAN STILL LEAVE.
I stand in the doorway.
I manage to walk to the first empty desk I see.
The teachers stare at me
LOOK WHAT YOU’VE DONE.
“Sorry, someone already sits there, could you move to a different desk?”
MORON.
“…Sure..” I say as I stand up out of my chair. I hear a slight snickering around the room.
They’re laughing at me.
“Are you new here?”
“…” I nod up and down, awkwardly.
“What’s your name?”
“…Dylan.” I somehow manage to stumble out my own name.
“Oh. Hi Dylan!”
I smile.
They’re nice.
Maybe it won’t be as bad as I made it out to be.
"History Has Failed Us, But No Matter"
By E.B.
Here I am in the trenches of the First World War drenched in sweat and knee-deep in mud. This is not what we were promised. We we were promised glory and the chance to see the world, but instead we're stuck here with nothing but mud and blood in foreign land trying to understand. Where is this greatness I’ve been told?
Day 534 we are still at a stalemate, but tomorrow we hope we can break the German line at noon. Tomorrow we will charge!
Day 535 today we charge. We are lined up in the trenches waiting for the order to go ahead. Then suddenly we hear the whistle go and 5,000 of us begin to charge. The enemy fire starts up instantly. I hear bullets wizzing overhead. I see men falling, gunned down like animals as artillery is firing killing dozens of men at once.
Finally, we reach the trench. We jump in face-to-face. The enemy charges me with his knife. He tackled me to the ground. I managed to grab his knife, but he is still on top of me trying to jam his knife in my neck. The knife keeps getting closer to the point it touches me. Then suddenly a fellow soldier pushes him off only to be stabbed himself but giving me the chase to grab my knife and jam it into the German soldier's neck killing him.
I get the chance to check in on my fellow soldier. As he was laying there lifeless, I close his eyes and go to help the rest of the men, but there are no enemies to fight. They have all surrendered. The trench is ours.
That day 3000 men died and many more to come in the following years.
"Never Give Up"
By C.D.
One day there was this boy that always loved sports especially baseball he would go outside every day and practice everyday because he wanted to play baseball . So one day he came up to his parents and asked if he could play baseball. They said yes and he said he would make sure to give it everything he got everyday . So he would go outside every day practicing and practicing so he could get better at it. So he practiced and practiced and then one day his first game came he was so happy and excite . He was ready for the game and so the had their warmup before the game and shortly after that the game started. So everyone to their positions so he goes to his position and he make a lot of good plays . Then he gets in the dugout and the coach said good job. And before you know it he is up to bat so he gets up to the plate and is pretty nervous when he gets up to the plate he gets ready and the pitch is coming as fast as lightning and the ball crosses the plate and strike one so he regroups. Then gets ready the ball comes straight towards the plate and strike 2 so he gets ready the pitch comes and strike 3 he strikes out and he is really upset . He did not want to keep playing but the coach comes up to him and said its just one at bat you will do better next time. And give it everything you got. And before he knows it he is up to bat again and he gets ready he is in a walk-off situation the winning run is at first so he gets ready the pitch comes and he hits it deep into left if sails over the wall and he walked off the game.
"The Haunted Honeymoon"
By Y.A.
A newly married couple, Adam and Rose, had been booked a luxurious room at a hotel. They had booked it for their honeymoon. They were excited to see what kind of experiences that this would bring them. They were joyful, to be able to have fun. Although, they did notice the priest when they first arrived. Of course, they thought this was weird, strange. It seemed as if he was preparing himself for a ritual of some kind. Since they found it weird, Adam and Rose decided to ask the staff. The manager, who had been speaking to the priest earlier, spoke truthfully and told them not to bother asking because some hotel guests had called the priest for some family rituals. The lovers decided to ignore the situation and to enjoy their day on the beach. Once they enjoyed their time together, they returned to the hotel. In the middle of the night, Rose woke up due to some cold chills. It felt like it was snowing on top of her. Regardless, she decided to take a drink of water. Looking around, she noticed that her husband was not there. She thought he probably got up to go to the bathroom so she just rested and dozed off. Surprisingly, she heard Adam’s voice. “Honey, you woke up,” she heard. “I didn’t mean to wake you.” She opened her eyes at the voice that spoke, only to see that Adam was not in the room. “Why’d you turn off all the lights?”. Instead of answering her question, Adam asked one of his own. He asked her if she’d ever cheat on him. Angered by his question, she said no and turned on the lights. Adam wasn’t there. Adam walked through the door, seeing the tears in his wife’s eyes, which freaked him out. She asked where he was, he said he had been downstairs getting some fresh air. She told him she wanted to leave, and they left the same night. The next day, the hotel manager called to apologize for the bad service. Turns out that the week before they had visited, a newly wedded couple had come to spend their honeymoon at the hotel. The man had caught the wife cheating on him so he jumped off a building, killing himself. Now, he haunts newly wedded women at the hotel. Things aren’t always as they seem, they could be dangerous.
"Zena, Clarissa, and the Evil Blaze"
By A.A.
Zena is a 15 year old girl she and Clarissa have been friends ever since Zena found out they were superheroes. Blaze has been terrorizing her hometown but now she has decided to fight back. Zena is fighting the evil Blaze on a hot air balloon. She zaps him, he blocks it. Zena shoots backwards and almost tumbles out, feeling dazed she gets up but Blaze kicks her out of the balloon. She falls onto the sand. She’s alive, but she is deserted in the desert. PLOP. “Never mind I’m not deserted” she says as Clarissa falls down. Zena and Clarissa wandered for two days and two nights. They become weary, then they find an oasis, but it’s not filled with water but with coffee! “Look!” Clarissa says. Zena looks and they see a cooler full of cold water bottles. They drink the water and coffee for energy soon they make it back to Coral Village. They see that Blaze is taking over the city! They take the burning old coffee and put it near him so he drinks it. Blaze drinks the disgusting old coffee, he looks at the cup disgusted and starts to barf. While he is busy Zena and Clarissa help evacuate the citizens. “It’s about to get messy” Zena says while cracking her knuckles. Blaze stops barfing and looks over at Zena and Clarissa and is very scared. He presses the button on his chest and begins to grow into a deadly robot suit. “Uh, have you seen anything like this?” Zena shakes her head. Then Zena starts running towards him. She climbs up a building and jumps onto the Blaze. She tries to pull the wires apart but gets thrown off she is knocked out. Clarissa starts running left then right then left so it confuses Blaze and he starts walking around and falls down trapping Clarissa. Zena stirs and she hears a call for help “Zena!” Zena rises up and jumps up on Blaze and yanks the wires. Blaze stands still and falls. She has saved the village!
"Winnie the Pooh Adventure"
By E.A.
On a cold icy day, Winnie the Pooh decided to pack up his honey and painting supplies, and go to Hawaii to paint its landscape and sunsets. And of course to enjoy Hawaii’s warm sunny days!
On the plane ride Winnie was having a hard time to stay calm since he is afraid of flying, which he didn’t think about before buying his plane ticket. “Are you ok mister?” Asked the stranger in the neighboring plane seat.
“I’m all right its just I get nervous and anxiety while flying.” Answered Pooh, “well then here have this.” The kind stranger hands Winnie a soft little pale blue blanket. “It calms me down when I get anxiety.” The kind stranger confessed. “Thank you so much.” Winnie said calmly as he cuddles up into the blanket.
As Winnie calmed down, him and the stranger had long conversations. A few hours later the plane landed, and Winnie tried giving the blanket back to the kind stranger, but the stranger insisted for Pooh to keep it. And they departed.
After a month of nice warm weather in Hawaii, the weather took the turn for the worse, and stormed for weeks on end. Winnie and the kind stranger ran into each other. But the kind stranger seemed to be stressed and anxious. After Winnie tried to get her open up why she was stressed. The stranger finally confessed that the blanket helped with her anxiety during storms but she still insisted for Pooh to keep the blanket for the plane ride back home.
So every day Pooh and the stranger met up and painted the storm on canvases. The stranger was having a hard time painting. When Pooh notices her struggling, he gives her a special paintbrush that been with him for his whole life ever since he was five. After the stranger insisted on Pooh to keep the brush he still gave it to her. And the stranger started to get better at painting. A few weeks later Pooh departed Hawaii and thought about the kindness the stranger showed to him.
And Pooh still to this day thinks about the kindness the stranger displayed towards him, and how he is going to show kindness anyone even strangers.
"Come Back"
By A.B.
Blood dripped from the knife that was resting on the stone alter. Leaf sat on the ground clutching his boyfriends corpse in his arms as tears streamed down his face. “I’m sorry my love, please forgive me” Leaf whispered hoping his boyfriend would respond and he could hear his voice one last time. Unfortunately for him the corpse said nothing in response. Leaf began to silently pray to the gods hoping that one of them would help him but to Leaf’s surprise it was not a god that answered his prayers. A demon appeared before Leaf. It stood at over seven feet tall with large black horns protruding from its head, leathery bat wings on its back, and red eyes that seemed to glow in the late evening light. The demon spoke in a deep and low tone, “ah I see the mortal wishes to be with his boyfriend again.” “Yes I do, please help me” Leaf replied, his voice threatening to break at any moment. The demon waited a moment before responding, “hm, alright.” Leaf smiled at the thought of his boyfriend being alive once more. Possibility’s of all the things he and his boyfriend could do raced through his head. Marriage, adoption, getting to live out their lives together until they grew old and died a natural death. The demon took a step towards Leaf and snapped its fingers. Leafs lifeless body collapsed on the ground, still holding onto his boyfriends corpse. The demon chuckled, “guess he should have asked me to bring his boyfriend back to life.”
"Untitled"
By B.E.
Mandalore, now a very calm planet after the purge of those swore to their creed, mandalorians. The great purge was an effort by the empire to steal all the Beskar armor from the mandalorians. But what was left of them begun to claim what was rightfully theirs, it started with Din Djaren who rescued a force sensitive child from the empire, he brought him to his own kind, he left with an old Jedi Ashoka tano. But now, the empire want back what they stole, so the bring a dreadnought star destroyer to mandalore. The star destroyer comes out of hyperspace into the atmosphere of mandalore, but the mandalorian can see it coming, the dreadnought drops the cannon down below the ship, its about to open fire, but just then, the Razor Crest (which is a ship off the empire and new republic grid, it’s a ghost) flies up and lands in the hangar bay. Some heavy infantry troops fly up with their flight packs and they fire upon the dreadnought. The pilot of the Razor Crest was non other than Din Djaren. He flew out of his ship wielding the darksaber, he took put the nearby stormtroopers and went to the main bridge, he got up there and killed some more troops,but he took the darksaber and all of its strength and destroyed all the main consoles of the ship and then he led it on a straight collision course straight to the planet of Dathomir (the home planet of Darth Maul). Din Djaren flies back to the ground in his ship and they have a great celebration because they also got more Beskar armor from the dreadnought.
"The Theif"
By H.H.
A man walks through a door into a large chamber, “please, sit down” I say as I turn around to meet the man face to face. it was obvious the man was had not worked in environments like this before, considering the man was visibly overheating. “I assume you have what I need, correct?” I said“Is this what your looking for?” The man pulled out a small bag, with something thrashing about in the bag. He knew that was it, considering that it had a lot of fight to it, despite being in a situation it could not escape. “Why yes, I believe so, now hand it over, if you so will” I replied.“I will, but I need something in return” the man said. I took a deep sigh, then pulled out the sword. Excalibur and laid it on the table. “This?” I offered, knowing the answer was already yes. “No” I reevaluated the man. How could he say no? That sword Is irresistible to every man. This man is not what he first thought though, he’s not overheating, but merely just faking it. The man is a thief, But if this man is not here for the Excalibur, then what is he here for? Does he know about the- creak, then I realized I had let my guard down. I took the Excalibur and threw it behind me to hit a small creature, and heard that sword turn the creature into dust. I turned back toward the man but he had already bolted for the door and was out. No matter, his hell hounds will take care of him as he heard the sound of a scream. He walked over to the pile of ash, it had stolen his keys to the vault of souls. How did they know about the vault? He heard the sound of one of his hell hounds coming up behind him, he turned around and saw it had the bag. He released what was inside of it, revealing a raven, who said “you really should have expected that.”